


I'll Devour Your Darkness

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [15]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Darkness, Demonic Possession, Demons, Demons and Dragons, Dragons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Control, Love, M/M, Promises, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-20 21:12:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16563215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: When a job goes awry resulting in Laxus being injured, Freed loses control and finds himself overcome by his demonic side, and its up to the Dragon-slayer to bring him back to himself.





	I'll Devour Your Darkness

   The job had been a disaster from the start. They’d been responding to an S-class request to deal with a large beast that had been wreaking havoc in the towns and villages along the western border of Fiore. The information they’d been given had been sketchy at best, but at the time that hadn’t worried them as they’d been more focused on the rising casualty count that the beast had been leaving in its wake. Unfortunately, that had left them completely unprepared for the fact that they’d walked into an all-out battle between two dark guilds that appeared to be fighting for control of the beast, neither side caring that in the absence of any sort of control the creature itself had moved off to attack the nearby town.

   Unable to ignore the dark guilds they had split into two groups. Laxus and Freed heading off to deal with the beast, although the former had insisted that he would be fine on his own, leaving the other two to round up the dark guilds as best they could. By the time they’d reached the town half of it had already been demolished and here and there they could see evidence of people trapped within the debris, but they forced themselves to head for the creature that they could now see towering over the buildings. Aware that if they didn’t stop it now the rest of the town would share a similar fate, hoping that someone had the sense to evacuate everyone else before they also got caught up in it.

    Turning onto the street where the beast was currently working on destroying what looked to have been a school not long before, they both found themselves coming to a halt with matching stunned expressions. The job request had implied that it was demonic in nature, but that hadn’t prepared them for the towering form that appeared to be loosely reptilian in appearance and Freed caught the wariness that flickered across Laxus’s face as the Dragon-slayer studied their opponent.

“That’s a lot bigger than I imagined.” Freed muttered with only an underlying edge of tension in his voice indicated how concerned he was, the hand that had drifted down to rest on his sword steady as he studied the beast with searching eyes, instinctively taking a step towards Laxus as the creature shifted its attention towards them.

“We need a barrier, because if this thing gets past us…” Laxus muttered not bothering to finish the sentence as they had both see the destruction things like this could cause, and they shared a meaningful look before Freed sighed and removed his hand from his sword.

“Understood.”

“Be careful,” Laxus cautioned, aware that the younger man was fully capable of protecting himself but unable to forget all the times that harm had befallen him. The events with Tartarus still very fresh in his mind despite the months that had passed since then, and he found himself having to fight the urge to reach out and pull Freed back to him.

“I think I should be the one saying that,” Freed pointed out with a frown, before sighing as he turned away trying to hide just how reluctant he was to leave the Dragon-slayer’s side, and he couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice as he muttered.  “Don’t do anything too reckless until I get back.” Without waiting for a reply, he broke into a run, aware that it would take some time to erect the barrier even though he’d got faster over time, and eager to get back to the blond’s side as soon as possible.

    Laxus huffed as he heard Freed moving off to do as he’d asked, but his lips curled up slightly in a smile when they’d first formed a team the younger man had been afraid to say anything that didn’t sound formal and respectful, and he enjoyed the change more than anymore. Cracking his knuckles, he turned his attention back to the creature, blue eyes narrowing as he realised that it was tracing Freed’s movements with its eyes, its muscles tightening as though it was preparing to chase after the younger man and the Dragon-slayer growled angrily.

“I don’t think so,” He snarled as he shed his cloak, immediately forgetting Freed’s warning not to be reckless as he attacked, determined not to give it the chance of getting near enough to risk hurting his companion. “Roar of the Lightning Dragon!”

   He had to admit that the beast was strong, easily taking attack after attack with only the bare minimum of damage and if he was completely honest with himself, it was becoming increasingly obvious that this wasn’t a fight he could win on his own. He’d been keeping an eye for the distinctive purple light that would indicate the barrier being activated, but there was no sign of it yet, and he bit his lip, aware that it was one hell of a request to erect a strong enough barrier to keep this beast in and cover the necessary area. _Still, please hurry,_ he added silently as he slammed his fist into its snout as it snapped at him again, catching the flicker of rage in the amber eyes that locked with his and only a quick twist in mid-air saved him from being impaled as it lashed out at him.

   Slightly shaken by the close call he sprang back onto the roof of a nearby building, spreading his hands and summoning his power, determined to try and finish this on his own regardless of his doubts, and blue eyes flashed with determination as it turned towards him with a threatening snarl.

“Lightning Dragon’s Heavenward Halberd!” Laxus roared falling back slightly as the lightning blade roared towards the beast, engulfing it in lightning and smoke, and his lips curled up in a smirk. “Take that you son of…” He trailed off the smoke cleared to reveal the creature standing untouched exactly where it had been moments before, eyes widening for a moment as he met its gaze before his eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists at his side. “Not a scratch, huh…” A familiar fear to the one he’d felt when facing the Dragons during the Grand Magic games rose in his chest, but he fiercely quelled it, he had grown since then. He could protect Freed and the town, _I have to keep him safe._

    Keeping that thought in the front of his mind he charged forwards with a roar, dredging up as much power as he could, realizing that nothing less than going all out was going to get him through this. He could have sworn that the beast smirked at him as they collided, and he poured more strength into his attacks with an angry snarl. _I will stop you._ He’d just managed to force it back a few steps when purple light blazed through the air, and for a brief second he was distracted by the sight of the runic walls sliding into place around them, impressed as even from here he could feel the strength of the barriers. The moment of distraction cost him though, and the only warning he had was a triumphant screech before sharp claws closed around his middle. Frantically he tried to blast his way free, cursing himself for making such a rookie error, but the creature seemed unfazed by the attacks as its claws tightened and Laxus was hard pressed to stifle a cry of pain. _Shit…_

    The realization that he was in deep trouble had only just settled in when he found himself being flung through the air, and this time he wasn’t able to hold back his cry as the claws caught his side before he was released. Pain and surprise slowed his reactions and by the time he’d contemplated trying to soften his landing he found himself slamming into one of the ruined buildings, the momentum of the throw causing him to roll through the debris until he slammed into Freed’s barrier, the final collision knocking all the air out of him and quashing any thought of getting up again. There was a sharp pain in the side of his head, and he was vaguely aware of something warm trickling down the side of his face, whilst the rest of his body felt like it had just been used as a bouncy ball. Groaning he shifted slightly, only to still as agony lanced through him and he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to ride it out.

“LAXUS!” The terrified shout dragged him back into the present, and his eyes flew open as he weakly twisted his head towards the sound of the cry just as something darted into sight. He had a vague impression of a dark shape shooting past him, the flash of green making him open his mouth in protest, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth, and he was helpless to do anything as his mind sank down into a grey haze. Not fully unconscious, but unable to process everything beyond the pain lancing through his body, the sounds of battle in the distance echoing in his ears as his thoughts faded even further.

_Freed…_

****

   It had taken him longer than he’d hoped to erect a barrier that would protect the undamaged parts of the town, and hopefully keep any civilians from straying near, the flashes of lightning in the distance telling him that Laxus was still fighting and stopping him from being able to focus completely. _Laxus…_ He worried about the Dragon-slayer, knowing that the idiot was always too willing to push himself too far when it came to protecting others, and especially when it came to protecting him. He wished that Ever and Bickslow had been with them so that he at least knew that there was someone there to guard Laxus’ back, but that hadn’t been possible, and his movements were hurried as he finished the last of the barrier just as the brightest flash of lightning yet filled the air.

    For a moment he froze in place, mesmerized as always by Laxus’ magic, but then he tensed as he saw the creature rising to its full height once more and he paled as he realised that it hadn’t be fazed by the attack. Gripping his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white he darted forward, cursing himself for taking too long and praying that he could get back before Laxus got into too much trouble

“LAXUS!” Freed shouted making no effort to keep the terror out of his voice, immediately changing course towards where the Dragon-slayer had landed, only to skid to a halt as a blast rent the ground between them. Eyes narrowed he whirled around to find the creature heading towards them and fresh fear spiked in his chest. _Laxus can't fight anymore,_ the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it also sharpened his resolve. He hadn't got there in time to stop this from happening, but he could protect Laxus now, and he felt his eye shifting even before he'd raised his word. “Dark Ecriture: Absolute Shadow!” He knew it was risky using that magic when his emotions were running so high. Aware that he was risking losing himself in the darkness by using it, but as he glanced swiftly at Laxus, relieved to find him stirring weakly even though it didn't look like he would be getting up anytime soon, he found that he didn't care.

_Becoming a demon is nothing as long as he's safe..._

The transformation had barely taken hold before he was dashing forward once more, another spark of magic drawing forth his wings as he leapt into the air with a growl. _Take the fight away from Laxus,_ he told himself, clinging to that thought as he felt the darkness beginning to seep through him. When he was calm and focused, he could hold it's spread in check, but with Laxus injured that wasn't going to happen and he could feel himself slipping already, and yet he didn't dare falter. They had no idea how long Bickslow and Evergreen were going to be so they couldn’t wait for them, and whilst he trusted that his barrier would hold for the time being there was no telling how powerful the creature was. _If it gets lose again…_ The town had already suffered enough damage, and he knew that Laxus would burden himself with the thought that he hadn’t stopped it and he refused to allow the already unnecessary burden to be made even worse.

    It didn’t take him long to reach the creature, wincing at the fresh damage that had already been wrought as it tried to break through to them and he just hoped that everyone that could had managed to get out. Coming to a rest on a nearby rooftop he gripped his sword tightly, biting his lip as he struggled to quell the rising darkness. Once he felt vaguely in control once more he raised his head and met the creature's eyes gaze, and almost at once he was hit by a spark of camaraderie as though his magic was recognizing it as a fellow demon and despite his instincts screaming at him to attack he found himself hesitating, and he screamed at himself in the privacy of his mind. _What are you doing? You have to fight! You have to protect Laxus!_

   He knew all that and yet he couldn’t seem to force himself to move and he swallowed nervously as the darkness began to spread even further through his body. In sheer desperation he reached down and dug a claw into his leg, drawing blood and jerking himself back into the present just in time to see the creature’s fist flying towards him.

  There was no time for him to avoid the blow, and he cried out as he was flung backwards, only a desperate twist managing to keep him on the rooftop and he immediately retaliated, runes forming a line in front of him for a second before he flung them forwards. A hint of despair forming as he watched the runes bounce harmlessly of its hide, and he immediately flung up a protective barrier as it refocused on him for a moment. They stared at each for a moment, and then the creature turned and began to move away, and terror welled up as he realised that it had a new target.

_Laxus,_

    A wordless snarl slipped free as the last bit of rational thought fled, the terror morphing into a dark rage, his sword falling discarded in his wake as he darted forward, his magic crackling as he launched himself at his opponent.

****

“This is bad. This is very bad.” Bickslow muttered as he peered out from behind the ruined building they had taken refuge behind, no trace of his usual grin visible as he studied Freed as their friend paced agitatedly around the fallen form of the creature, his magic leaching into the air around him. “Where the hell is Laxus?” He demanded as he glanced around for any sign of the Dragon-slayer, aware that there was no way that he would have left Freed alone when he was in this state, and worried about what that meant for Laxus’ condition. It hadn't taken them long to deal with the guilds, especially as both sides had been largely taken out by their own fighting, and the Rune Knights had shown up just as they were rounding up the last few. Leaving it to the council they had immediately headed to the town, and they had naively thought that the fact that they couldn’t see the creature meant that the rest of their team had been equally successful.

They certainly hadn’t been prepared for the sight of Freed in his demonic form standing in front of the downed beast, with no sign of Laxus in the immediate area. Thinking nothing of it after fighting alongside Freed in this form numerous times before they’d immediately tried to rush to him, only to be forced to take cover when Freed had whirled around with a snarl, no recognition in the dark eyes as he’d sent a wild blast of magic in their direction. The simple-minded wildness had been enough to tell them that their Freed wasn’t in control, and the darkness seeping into the air around him had only confirmed that.

This wasn’t their Freed.

“I’ll find him, he’s the only one who can get through to Freed when he’s like this…” Evergreen replied as she straightened, peering around the edge of the building to stare at Freed for a long moment, wondering if her friend was even aware of his own condition right now. He had always made it clear that he was ashamed of his inability to control his demonic form at times, always refusing to give them more details than necessary and she wished now that they had forced him to talk to them about it, just so that they knew what he was going through.

“But…”

“Just keep an eye on him and don’t let him attack anyone,” Evergreen ordered overriding his protests, ducking back behind the wall as Freed’s head turned in their direction, holding her breath as she waited to see if he was going to come after them. She had no doubt that he knew they were there, and that it was merely a question of whether the demon deemed them a threat or not as to whether he would seek them out - after all, they weren’t much of a threat to him when he was in this state. There was no sign of Freed heading towards them, and she let out a sigh of relief, before quietly spreading her wings as she readied herself to search for Laxus, praying that nothing bad had happened to him as she turned expectant eyes towards the Seith mage.

“Fine,” Bickslow grumbled even though he knew that it was probably better that he remained behind, after all, he’d had to deal with one of Freed’s ‘outbursts’ before, not that he was overly eager to do so again as that time he’d ended up in the infirmary for a couple of weeks.  “Just hurry,” he added tersely, praying that he wouldn’t have to fight Freed. With a solemn nod, Evergreen took to the air, carefully choosing a path that would keep her out of sight and Bickslow watched until she had passed out of sight before turning his attention back to Freed.

_Freed…_

****

   Laxus groaned softly as he came back to full awareness, the memories rushing in immediately and with difficulty he forced himself into a semi-upright position, reaching up to brush a hand against his temple and grimacing as it came away stained with blood. _Damn it, I let a hit like that take me out?_ His eyes widened as he realised that he had no idea what had happened to the creature, and ignoring his pounding head he glanced around, only then realizing that it was eerily quiet around him. He appeared to have flown quite a distance from where he’d been fighting, but he couldn’t see any sign of the beast and from what he could tell what had remained of the town was still standing. Had he managed to take it out at the last minute? Somehow, he doubted it, and there was another memory tickling on the edges of his mind, but he couldn’t bring it into focus.

_What is it? What happened?_

“Laxus!” The sudden shout startled him out of his thoughts, and he glanced up to find Evergreen soaring towards him, her expression twisted with worry and fear and something unpleasant churned in his gut as he stared up at her. _Something’s wrong._ “Laxus!”

“Not so loud,” Laxus groaned as he gripped his head in displeasure, not paying any attention to her frantic apologies as he tried to ride out the pain in his head. Seriously how could have been so careless as to get injured? Irritation and shame warred for control as he realised that he hadn’t been able to keep them safe in the way that he’d wanted. In the way that he’d promised them the last time, after they’d been hurt because he hadn’t been strong enough to protect them. Lowering his hands, he clenched them into fists in his lap. _I was meant to be getting stronger._ Still, he knew there would be enough time for self-recrimination later, and ignoring the pain still throbbing through his head he turned to look at her. “What the hell happened?”

“Freed…” Evergreen murmured before trailing off, aware that he wasn’t going to like the news and a little afraid of what his reaction was going to be. Even injured Laxus was formidable, and she regretted not making Bickslow be the one to come and tell him what was going on, not that she had wanted to risk having to be the one to fight Freed if he’d decided to come after them. Her hands clenched at the thought of having to fight her teammate. _Freed you idiot, what the hell were you thinking?_

“What about Freed? Where is he?” Laxus demanded urgently, cursing himself as he recalled seeing the dark shape and flash of green that had passed him. _How could I forget?_ The uneasy churning in his gut intensified as Evergreen seemed to pale, clearly hesitating to reply, and when she finally spoke, she was unable to meet his gaze.

“Bickslow is keeping an eye on him at the moment,” she murmured nervously, shrinking back as lightning crackled around him and it was with even greater trepidation that she continued. “But…”

“But?”

“He’s not himself.” She admitted reluctantly, her eyes darkening as she glanced back towards the other side of town. “He’s gone too far into the shadows.”  Laxus blanched at her words, immediately knowing what she was talking about. It had only happened a handful of times since Freed had first learnt how to apply Dark Ecriture to himself, but if the situation was stressful enough he could become trapped in his demonic form, and often the only thing that forced him back into his normal form was running out of magic. In the past that hadn’t taken too long, especially after a fight like this, but his magic had grown exponentially in the last year or so and Laxus dreaded to think what it might take to bring their – his, Freed back. _Who’s the reckless one now?_ He thought bitterly, although it was mainly turned inwards as he knew that it was probably the fact that he had been taken down that had pushed Freed to such extremes.

“Let’s go,” Laxus growled as he straightened, biting back a cry as he realised that it wasn’t only his head that had suffered from his abrupt flight and hastily schooling his expression into a blank mask as Evergreen glanced at him in concern.

“Your head?”

“It’s nothing,” Laxus replied dismissively, ignoring her dubious expression as he turned away with a huff, there was no way he could waste time worrying about his own injuries when Freed was in trouble. _Idiot, I told you not to push yourself for my sake!_ He remembered the first time he’d encountered an out of control Freed, back then they hadn’t been as close as they were now and, in a way, it had been easier to handle. But each subsequent incident had been increasingly difficult to deal with, especially as they often had to resort to force to keep him in check, something that Laxus was reluctant to do.

_Freed…_

**

   It didn’t take them long to reach the spot where the creature had fallen, and Laxus was relieved to see that Freed hadn’t moved from the area as the last time this had happened the idiot had taken off on them, and they’d only just managed to catch up to him before he could get into trouble. However, the relief paled in comparison to his worry as he studied the agitated movements. He wasn’t sure whether it was a sign that Freed was fighting to come back to himself, or whether he was readying himself to lash out. Laxus prayed that it was the former, but luck hadn’t been on their side so far, and he let out a soft sigh.

_You’re not going to make it easy for me are you…?_

“Stay here,” he ordered softly as he glanced at Bickslow and Evergreen, narrowing his eyes as they both opened their mouth to protest and they immediately backed off. He knew that they were just worried for their teammate, but he also knew that if Freed pushed this to a fight, he was the only one that could fully handle the demon. Still, it took a moment for him to gather himself enough to step out from his hiding place, call him a coward but he really didn’t want to fight Freed, even though he knew that it might be the only way to bring him back.

“Freed!” Laxus called as he took a step forward, only to freeze as Freed’s eyes snapped towards him, for the first time feeling afraid of the younger man as he could find no trace of recognition or humanity in the dark eyes that were now watching his every move. He had always been aware of how powerful Freed was, especially when he was fighting seriously, but there was a different type of energy coming from him at the moment, and it made him uneasy. Slowly he raised his arms in what he hoped was an unthreatening posture, trying to keep his voice low and soothing as he called to him. “Freed can you hear me? If you’re still in there, give me a sign…I don’t want to do this!” He felt a little embarrassed to be admitting that in front of an audience but there was no way he was going to take it back. He’d been hoping to at least see a flicker of the Freed he knew, but the demon just snarled at him, magic crackling around him and Laxus swallowed hard as he took a wary step back. _Damn it. Freed, don’t make me fight you seriously…_

“Laxus!” Evergreen shouted in alarm, and he tilted his head towards her, not daring to take his eyes completely of Freed right now as he couldn’t trust the swordsman not to attack him, a thought that pained him more than he’d ever thought it would. _Freed…_ They’d rarely even argued in all the years that they’d known each other, let alone faced each other seriously in a fight and he really didn’t want to start now, and yet if Freed attacked he’d have no other choice as he knew that the younger man would never forgive himself if he injured Laxus.

“Stay back!” Laxus shouted as he realised both she and Bickslow were trying to move closer to them, wincing as he heard the feral growl from behind him as Freed spotted the movement. Thankfully the noise was enough to make them both halt, as he was fairly sure that Freed was only seconds away from attacking, turning all his attention back to Freed he added softly. “I’ll deal with this!”

“But…” Bickslow protested.

“I said I’ll deal with it!” Laxus snapped, his eyes softening as they both flinched back at his tone, knowing that they were just as worried for Freed as he was and his voice was gentler as he added. “Get everyone out of the area!” There was no way they were going to be able to contain the damage from this fight, especially as he doubted that Freed would have set the barriers to block his own magic and he refused to risk letting Freed hurt an innocent person, knowing that it would hurt him more than anything else.

“Fine…”   

“Just make sure you both come back,” Evergreen ordered sharply and Laxus nodded without looking at them, there was no need for a verbal response as there was no way he was going to let the alternative happen.

_We’re all going home together._

    Laxus waited until he’d heard them both leave the immediate area, before turning narrowed eyes towards Freed, fighting back a shiver as he realised that demon was staring at him intently. Usually when Freed was in this form the loss of the usual warm, turquoise didn’t bother him because he knew that meant that the Rune mage was serious and focused on supporting him, but today he felt like cold water had been dumped over him as he held his gaze. Apparently Freed had realised that he was somewhat of a threat, as the demon was now snarling softly at him and Laxus tensed as he began to stalk towards him, for once unable to appreciate the graceful movement.

“Freed you idiot come back,” he called instead, barely managing to keep his voice level, well aware that the other two were still nearby and not wanting to show them just how worried he was. “I’m don’t want to fight you. Not like this, so wake up and come back to me,” Laxus couldn’t completely stop his voice from choking up at the last bit, desperately searching the dark eyes for any sign that Freed was hearing what he was saying, but there was nothing but anger and hunger churning in the black depths, the snarl that followed confirming that Freed was still far from the surface. “I guess you’re not giving me much choice,” Laxus muttered under his breath with a defeated expression, he hadn’t really expected it to work, but it was still disappointing. Quietly he moved back a few steps to try and put some more space between them as Freed continued to head towards him, and his voice was pained as he added more loudly.  “Just don’t hate me for this alright?”

   There was no chance for him to say anything else, as with a feral snarl Freed had charged, and suddenly he was finding himself hard-pressed to stave off the other’s attacks. Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem, but his injuries were slowing him down more than he cared to admit, and he was restrained in what attacks he could use as there was no way he was willing to risk seriously injuring Freed if he could help it. That meant that he had to try and hold out as long as possible, and hope that Freed’s magic ran out before he was forced to take desperate measures. However, as he barely managed to avoid the blast of dark magic heading straight for his head he had to concede that it didn’t look as though Freed was going to make it easy for him. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his lightning around his hand and lashed out, trying to force the demon back as he felt sharp claws raking across his skin, wincing as the slighter man was slammed backwards into the building under the force of the blow.

_Damn_ _it Freed! Hurry up and come back to me!_

**

“Shouldn’t we help?” Evergreen asked anxiously, tapping her fingers against her arms as she watched Laxus and Freed lashing out at one another. It was one thing to watch them fight against others but watching them trying to tear strips out of one another was a completely different matter. And even though she knew that Laxus was doing his utmost to avoid hurting Freed to seriously she longed to go out there and stop them. Or at least try to help, she amended silently, aware that Freed was too far gone to come back to himself without help at this point.

“Do you really want to get into the middle of that?” Bickslow demanded incredulously, wincing as Laxus was slammed into the front of one of the buildings, lightning filling the air as the Dragon-slayer immediately surged back to his feet and launched himself back towards Freed. The resulting collision sent both of their magics spiraling through the air, and he hastily yanked Evergreen back slightly as debris hurtled through the air around them. Laxus was going to be worried enough about hurting Freed, without needing to worry about them as well, and his voice was somewhat strained as he added quietly.  “That isn’t a battle for normal mages. Unless you’re secretly a demon or a dragon, it’s safer to wait them out.”

“Yeah…” Evergreen was forced to agree as the battling pair collided mid-air, realizing that the collision would have knocked a normal mage out of the fight completely, and yet neither of them seemed fazed in the slightest, and she shook her head slightly before adding softly. “I always forget just how strong Freed is. He hides it so well most of the time.” In fact, she’d been less than impressed the first time she’d met the Rune mage, fully expecting him to either be a coward or useless in actual battle and yet he had surprised her at every turn, and it hadn’t taken long for her to fully accept him as their Captain. However, he’d never held that position over them, and she often found herself being pulled in by his quiet and somewhat reticent persona, only for something like this to remind her of the truth.

“Yeah,” Bickslow agreed softly, wincing as he heard Freed snarling angrily as Laxus managed to toss him aside as the demon strove to slash his chest open, knowing that they were both going to be a mess by the time this fight ended. “At least that means we know he’ll survive this.”

“The battle yeah,” Evergreen muttered, before sighing as she caught the confusion on his face, her voice strained as she explained her answer. “But he’s not going to take this loss of control well, and Laxus got hurt as well.” Freed had a bad habit of trying to take the blame whenever any of them were injured, and she shuddered to think what he might do if he was responsible for an injury, and from the way, Bickslow had stilled his thoughts had also taken the same track.

“Damn.”

**

    Laxus knew that he was holding back and that he couldn’t really afford to be doing that, but this was Freed that they were talking about. _I don’t want to hurt him._ Even with the hard-black eyes staring at him and the feral snarls, it was impossible for him to forget who he was fighting, and the sight of blood trickling from a cut above his eye that he’d inflicted was like a punch to the gut. Never breaking their locked gaze, he sprang back a few steps, wincing as he felt the pull of his own injuries gaze briefly flicking to the deep scratches across his chest that Freed had managed to inflict before forcing the pain aside as he refocused on the demon.

“Freed!” He called softly, earning a small snarl from the demon, and his eyes narrowed as he realised that it was far weaker than the one he’d received a moment before, and there was a flicker of hope in his chest as he slowly spread his arms to appear less threatening. “Come on I know that you can hear me!” He added softly, torn between praying that he was right and Freed could hear his words, and hoping that he couldn’t so that he didn’t have to witness what his demonic side was doing.

“Lax…”

     It was barely more than a whisper, but Laxus heard it anyway, and his eyes widened as he realised that the darkness in the other’s eyes seemed lighter than before. He waited hoping to hear something, terrified that it had been nothing more than his imagination, and he leant forward as he realised that Freed’s mouth was moving slightly although nothing else was coming out.

“Freed…?” He whispered as he took a step forward, _am I finally getting through to him?_ He’d barely gone to steps when the dark eyes sharpened, and he froze as a vicious snarl rippled through the other man, and he was caught by surprise when Freed charged forwards. There was no time for him to defend himself, and he braced himself, cursing himself for getting his hope up to soon as it was Freed that was going to pay the price for that mistake. However, the fist that collided with his cheek lacked any real force, and although it sent a spike of pain through his already wounded head it wasn’t enough to faze him, and he closed his eyes as he realised that the lack of strength had been deliberate, and he reached out without hesitation.

“I told you,” He whispered, opening his eyes once more as he wrapped his arms around the squirming demon, tilting his head so that he could meet Freed’s eyes, and relieved to see that one of them was slowly shifting back to their usual turquoise. _One more push,_ he thought, making sure to hold the Rune mage’s gaze as he added softly.  “I’ll devour your darkness.” Closing his eyes, he tightened his hold as Freed abruptly began to struggle against his hold, the demon struggling to break free before it could lose control of Freed’s body, but Laxus was relentless in his hold.

  _I won’t lose you now._

    Blue eyes snapped open with that thought, and he carefully turned the smaller man around in his arms, ignoring the demon’s attempts to snap at him, before slowly leaning forward and pressing his lips against Freed’s.

_Let me take your darkness…_

    Evergreen and Bickslow shared a stunned look at the turn the fight had taken, especially as they knew that Laxus was aware of their presence, and in the past, he had done everything he could to keep the relationship between himself and Freed private and separate from what they did as a team. Not that it was a secret, or that it would have bothered them even if they were more open about it, especially when they had seen how happy the pair had been when they’d finally acknowledged that the feelings that lay between them were far more than those that teammates should share.

    Although they were reluctant to leave until they knew that Freed was completely back to himself, it felt as though they were intruding on something intensely private. Sharing a quiet glance, they both nodded in agreement before cautiously beginning to move away, trusting that Laxus would be able to track them down when they were ready.

**

     It took a couple of minutes before he became aware of a tentative response to the kiss, and glancing down he was unsurprised to find tears trickling down Freed’s cheeks as his transformation slowly began to wash away. He made no move to pull back, instead tightening his hold on him and deepening the kiss, no longer trying to devour Freed’s darkness, but instead trying to convey the depths of his feelings. Words were always difficult for him, and at the moment there was too much potential for getting bogged down in issues that he didn’t want to think about. All that he cared about was that Freed was coming back to himself, and soon they would be able to head home and try and put all of this behind them.

    As he felt the final vestiges of Freed’s magic fading away, he reluctantly pulled back, briefly meeting his boyfriend’s eyes for a moment, only to let out a startled cry when the Rune mage’s eyes abruptly rolled back, and he collapsed as his legs gave out beneath him. The Dragon-slayer easily caught him, lowering them both to the ground, his eyes softening as he studied the other’s face, drinking in the sight of his normal features and reaching up to brush his thumb gently over one pale cheek. He should’ve expected this collapse as Freed’s magic had been running at full throttle for a while. Still, he couldn’t quite quell his panic as he stared down at Freed, his earlier guilt began to churn once more, aware that this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t allowed himself to be taken out so easily in the original battle. _Freed, I’m so sorry…_

   After a few minutes, he became aware of the fact that Freed was beginning to shiver, and his eyes narrowed as he took in the tattered remains of the Rune mage’s clothes before reaching up to remove his coat, only to blink when his searching hand came up empty. Cursing he gently eased Freed onto the ground, his hand lingering for a moment as he brushed wayward hair out of Freed’s face and after a second he lent down and pressed a chaste kiss to the younger’s forehead.

“I’ll be right back.”

    Thankfully it didn’t take him long to track down his coat, finding it trapped under some debris in one of the buildings they’d slammed into, it was more than a little battered, but it would do the job, and he hurried back to where he’d left Freed relieved to find that he hadn’t moved. After dusting it off, he crouched down to gently wrap it around the Rune Mage, fingers lingering as he took in the damage that had been inflicted between Freed’s battle against the creature - and the more recent damage that he had been unable to avoid inflicting, guilt stirring in the pit of his stomach. Even when he had been at his worst, he had never truly been able to contemplate hurting Freed, and the fact that he had been forced to do so now left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he clenched his hands. He was about to back away, feeling suddenly unsuitable to even touch Freed, only to freeze as there was a muffled groan from the other man.

“L-Laxus?” Freed whispered as he stirred, blinking hazily as he tried to bring the figure leaning over him into focus, already knowing that it was the Dragon-slayer even before a large hand reached down to grasp his. The simple touch was grounding, and he felt some of the panic that had been stirring as a result of waking in a strange place dissipate as he weakly curled his fingers around Laxus’s.

“Yeah it’s me,” Laxus said softly unable to keep his voice steady, and when Freed finally managed to bring his face into focus, he was taken aback by the sheer relief on the Dragon-slayer’s face. “Are you back with me now?”

“I think…so?” Freed asked uncertaintly as he tried to take stock of how he felt, unable to mask his wince as he shifted slightly and sent pain lancing through every inch of his body. Despite the distraction, he didn’t miss the guilt that passed across Laxus’s expression or the way that the Dragon-slayer suddenly wouldn’t meet his gaze, and stilling he frowned as he stared up at the blond with worried eyes. “What happened? I don’t…I don’t…” He trailed off as flashes of memory returned, his eyes widening with horror as he shifted his gaze to the damage surrounding them and then back to Laxus, realizing for the first time just how bruised and battered the taller man looked. He could remember defeating the beast, so these fresh injuries had to have come from elsewhere, and nausea welled up as Laxus met his gaze before giving a small nod.

    At once he flinched back, desperately trying to put some space between them, guilt and horror warring for control as understanding dawned. _It was me._ He scooted backwards until his back hit a wall, huddling in on himself and wrapping his arms around his knees as he buried his face, unable to bear the disappointment he was sure he’d find in Laxus’s eyes and wishing that he could just disappear. He wished that he’d never learned to use his magic like that, even if that would’ve left him too weak to stand at the Dragon-slayer’s side. Hearing movement as Laxus move towards him he burrowed his head even further, but he couldn’t stop himself from trying to apologize.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…I promised that I would learn to stop that from happening...”

“Shh,” Laxus quickly forgot his own guilt and turmoil, instead focusing on the need to reassure Freed as he rapidly closed the distance between them, eyes darkening as he realised that Freed was still refusing to look at him. Sighing he crouched in front on his boyfriend, reaching out to gently rest his hands on Freed’s knees and settling into wait. It took nearly ten minutes before Freed finally gave into the gentle pressure, hesitantly lifting his head to peer up at Laxus, and the Dragon-slayer hesitated for a moment as he caught sight of the tears swimming in the turquoise eyes that would no longer meet his. Seeing that Freed was about to take his silence the wrong way, he added softly.  “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

_You’re back that’s all that matters._

“But…” Freed protested weakly.

“Freed!” Laxus cut across him sternly, waiting until damp eyes met his before continuing, well aware that he needed to nip this in the bud before the Rune Mage could overthink everything. “You scared me, I won’t deny that! But I scared you too, and I know that’s why you lost control.”

“But I promised…”

“I never wanted that promise, and I don’t need it now,” Laxus pointed out plainly. He hadn’t been happy the first time Freed had made that promise, but he hadn’t been willing to argue at the time as Freed had been almost desperate to make it. However, he wasn’t about to make that mistake again and to be sure that he had Freed’s attention he lifted one of his hands and gently cupped Freed’s cheek. “You have got a lot better at controlling it, but every mage knows that our control can go out of the window when our emotions are high. Hell, look at the chaos Natsu causes when he really loses control.” _Look at the havoc I caused when I really lost my temper back then. Yet you never scolded me for it or even blamed me for it._

“I…” It was clear that Freed was wavering now, torn between wanting to accept Laxus was saying and his guilt and the Dragon-slayer was keen to press his advantage.

“Freed,” Laxus cut him off gently, his gruff voice betrayed by the softness in his eyes as he stared down at Freed, his thumb tracing gentle circles over Freed’s cheek.  “I don’t care that you lost control! All I care about is the fact that you came back, and that I was able to help bring you back! As long as you always come back, I don’t care how often you lose control, because I will be here to devour your darkness.” It had been his own promise that he’d made when they’d first talked about taking their relationship to the next level, as Freed had feared that his demonic nature would be a problem, Laxus had never for a moment believed that would be the case but the promise had reassured Freed, and he had been more than willing to make it.

“Laxus…” Freed whispered, easily able to tell that the Dragon-slayer meant every word that he was saying, the blond had never been able to lie to him as the truth always showed in his eyes. Part of him still wanted to object, especially as his gaze lingered on the nasty claw marks on Laxus’ chest, but at the same time he couldn’t bring himself to protest when faced with the pleading expression on his partner’s face. Laxus was pleading with him to accept what he was saying, and with a sniffle, Freed gave a small nod.

    A soft smile spread across Laxus’s face as relief flooded him. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that this was going to be the end of it, he knew that Freed would want to talk about once they were home and recovered, but at least then he would be more rational, and for now, Laxus was more than willing to accept that. Tenderly he reached up and gently brushed away the tears that were trickling down Freed’s cheeks, chuckling softly as Freed sniffled again before leaning into the gentle touch. Brushing away one last tear he leaned forward and gently caught Freed’s lips in a gentle kiss, it was slow and soft, and he was relieved to feel Freed leaning in and responding as it reassured him that he was truly back with him.

“Welcome back,” he whispered when they broke apart, resting his head gently against Freed’s forehead, earning a watery chuckle from the Rune mage.

“Yeah…I’m back.”

 


End file.
